COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Penn St. falls to unbeaten Ohio St.

Monday

Oct 29, 2012 at 9:30 AM

By Ben Destefan

UNIVERSITY PARK — The opportunities were there for an upset. But, in the end, the better team emerged victorious.

Entering the half tied at seven with No. 9 Ohio State in front of a capacity crowd Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, Penn State was unable to contain Buckeye quarterback Braxton Miller and the OSU offense down the stretch, surrendering 28 points in the final two quarters en route to a 35-23 Big Ten football loss that snapped the Nittany Lions' previous five-game winning streak.

Ultimately, the difference came down to the Buckeyes' ability to control the line of scrimmage, never allowing the Penn State offense to truly establish a rhythm while holding the Nittany Lions to a mere 32 rushing yards on 28 carries.

Despite the lack of success of the ground, Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin passed for a career-high 327 yards and two touchdowns, keeping the Nittany Lions (5-3, 3-1 Big Ten) threatening.

Unfortunately for PSU, his lone interception that was returned for a touchdown by Ohio State's Ryan Shazier on the opening possession of the second half proved to be the decisive shift in momentum, with the Buckeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) reeling off two additional scores before the end of the third quarter, culminating into the insurmountable deficit.

"We did some uncharacteristic things tonight and I think that I need to do a better job," Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien said. "We made mistakes, but we win as a team and we lose as a team. It starts with me and I'm going to dive into the tape tomorrow and figure out things I can do better to help this team do better."

Miller's athleticism haunted the Nittany Lions throughout the game, with the Ohio State signal caller rushing for 134 yards, including a pair of 1-yard touchdowns, while adding 143 yards through the air, 72 of which came on a scoring strike to Jake Stoneburner that acted as the dagger with 6:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"I think he's an excellent player," O'Brien said of Miller. "He's one of the top five players in the country. We stopped him at times and at other times we didn't. We have to go back and watch the tape and see again what we can do better to stop a player like that."

Both defenses dictated the tempo early, leading to a scoreless first quarter that featured two glaring misses by the Nittany Lions.

On Penn State's opening possession, McGloin overthrew a wide-open Allen Robinson down the left sideline on third-and-three before safety Stephen Obeng-Agyapong jumped in front of a Miller pass for what appeared to be a sure 'pick-six' prior to the ball slipping through his hands on Ohio State's ensuing series.

With the field-position battle carrying into the second quarter, Penn State capitalized by pinning the Buckeyes deep, forcing a three-and-out to set up a blocked punt by Mike Hull that was recovered in the end zone by Michael Yancich for the game's first score with 6:15 remaining in the half.

Looking to temper the boisterous 'White Out' crowd of 107,818, Ohio State responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown from Carlos Hyde to tie the contest heading into the locker room.

McGloin's interception to Shazier kept the Buckeyes' rally rolling in the third before a promising Penn State drive stalled at the OSU 9, resulting in a 27-yard Sam Ficken field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Following a failed fake punt attempt by the Nittany Lions roughly three minutes later, Ohio State took over possession near midfield, with the Buckeyes driving 57 yards on 10 plays for a 21-10 lead.

Still struggling against a stout Ohio State front, a Penn State three-and-out immediately returned the ball to Miller and the Buckeye offense, with the OSU signal caller showing why he should still be included in the Heisman conversation.

Complemented by the duo of Hyde and Rod Smith, Miller marched a punishing Buckeyes' ground attack 85 yards in eight plays, capping the drive with a highlight-reel dive across the goal line, extending the lead to 28-10.

Down three scores and experiencing basically no success on the ground, Penn State was forced to go to the air, with McGloin completing 7-of-12 passes on the ensuing possession, including a 2-yard touchdown to Matt Lehman, trimming the Buckeyes' lead to 28-16 with 9:49 left to play in the fourth.

Faced with third-and-four from deep in its own end six snaps later, Miller again delivered for Ohio State, hitting Stoneburner in stride on a skinny post behind the Nittany Lions' coverage, essentially sealing the victory on the 72-yard scoring connection.

Penn State managed to record the game's final touchdown with 1:41 remaining, as McGloin hit Kyle Carter on a 20-yard touchdown pass, resulting in the 35-23 final.

The Nittany Lions return to Big Ten action on Saturday at Purdue. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA ~ 30 Walnut St. Waynesboro, PA 17268 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service